Along the banks of the Cannon River in Faribault, Minn., you’ll find an old brick woolen mill next to a dam and waterfall. It’s a picturesque setting that has been a part of this town from almost the very beginning.
“It started in 1865 with a German immigrant, who came here as a cabinet maker, and learned there was a need for wool or wool batting and decided to buy a one-horse treadmill carding machine to card wool for batting for quilts,” says Paul Mooty, current owner of the mill.
WORLDWIDE IMPACT
The first washable wool blanket and the first moth-proof blanket both came from the Faribault mill. The reach of its products went far beyond Minnesota.
“It is said at one point this mill produced half the wool blankets in the U.S.,” Mooty says. “It’s also said during World War I and World War II the odds were that the blanket a soldier was carrying came out of the Faribault Woolen Mill.”
But the factory began to fall on hard times in the 1990s, and by 2009 it closed. Mooty entered the story in a most unlikely way.
“A college roommate, who I hadn’t heard from in 25 years, called and said his dad wanted me to come down and see the mill. He was going to come down here for a visit, so I agreed to come down and take a look.”
Five minutes into the tour, Mooty had seen enough to know he wasn’t interested. But, two hours later, after a long-time employee shared with him the story of what the mill had been and perhaps it could be once again, Mooty’s thoughts had changed.
“I went home and said to my wife, it is really something special,” he recalls.
VERTICAL BUSINESS
Mooty got in touch with a cousin. They jumped in and purchased the mill. By July 5, 2011, they began operations with five former employees, and by the end of the year, 40 folks were back at work operating the machines and producing woolen wares. It’s one of only two vertical woolen mills in the nation.
They source wool from the U.S. and Australia, depending on the time of year, and there are some products that require wool from specific locations.
The Faribault Woolen Mill continues to expand their product line and number of retail stores. It is a comeback story with roots in the days just after the Civil War.
